Contracts Finder is the UK government portal where public bodies publish lower-value contract opportunities and awards, including commercial cleaning. Central government must publish contracts of £12,000 including VAT and above, while councils, NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts publish at £30,000 including VAT and above — so it is the first place to look for public cleaning work.
What is Contracts Finder?
Contracts Finder is a free gov.uk service that lists public-sector contract opportunities and awarded contracts. It exists to make public spending transparent and to open competition to smaller suppliers. For cleaning businesses it is the primary shop window for lower and mid-value public work — everything from a single school to a council's office estate.
The publication thresholds
What must be published depends on the buyer. Central government departments must publish opportunities and awards of £12,000 including VAT and above. Sub-central authorities — including councils, NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts — must publish at £30,000 including VAT and above. Contracts above the high-value threshold (usually £139,688 including VAT for goods and services) are advertised on the Find a Tender Service instead.
How to search and set up alerts
You can search Contracts Finder by keyword (for example 'cleaning' or 'janitorial'), by location, by CPV code, and by contract value, and you can save searches to receive email alerts when matching opportunities are published. Setting a saved search for cleaning in your regions means new public opportunities reach you the day they go live.
Turning a listing into a bid
A listing links to the buyer's tender documents and specification. Read the specification and the scored questions carefully, check the prequalification requirements (insurance, accreditations, vetting), and prepare a specification-matched response — our guide to writing a cleaning tender response covers the method. Because these are public contracts, price transparently against the wage floor and validate it with a fixed monthly quote. For the wider landscape, see public-sector cleaning contracts.
Contracts Finder publication thresholds (including VAT)
| Buyer type | Must publish from | Where higher value goes |
|---|---|---|
| Central government | £12,000 | Find a Tender above ~£139,688 |
| Councils (sub-central) | £30,000 | Find a Tender above ~£139,688 |
| NHS Trusts / Foundation Trusts | £30,000 | Find a Tender above ~£139,688 |